Peter's Choice
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Muggle coffeeshop/cult AU- Peter decides to run away after the murder of his friends, and when Harry walks into the coffee shop he realises his past might catch up with him after all.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 760

Title: Peter's Choice

Note: AU! Muggle, coffee shop, cult

Warnings: Blood supremacy, cult

Beta: DarylDixon'sgirl1985

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Hogwarts

Assignment 1: Arithmancy: The Numbers in the Name: Task #3: Write about a character getting a 'reality check' in their life.

Seasonally:

Days of the year: March 15th - Everything You Think is Wrong Day: Write about never being able to do anything right.

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After Peter decided to sell out his best friends locations to the worst bad guy that ever existed, he decided to start working as a waiter at a coffee shop. He thought back nervously to the night when they found out about Tom Riddle.

It seemed like Tom Riddle was just a man with strong ideals, some of which Peter had always believed in. Peter had been sucked into Tom's cult, and he got his friends involved as well. He didn't know that they would be killed if they decided to leave; he didn't feel like he could be blamed for that. He knew he had made many mistakes in his life, but he had good intentions.

He sighed and cleaned the table. It seemed everything he attempted always ended up a disaster. The plates slipped from his hands causing a crash and then there was a bellow from behind the counter.

"Jeremy! How many times do I need to tell you to be more careful?" An old man with square glasses shouted angrily.

_Jeremy_, that was the name he had chosen while on the run. Having become part of the cult just as they finished Hogwarts boarding school, he had no college or work experience to fall back onto.

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Flashback:

xxxxxx

"This man has such powerful ideas," Peter said, stuffing a pamphlet into James's hand.

_The one and only, Tom Riddle._

"What is this presentation about?" Remus asked curiously.

"About empowerment of the youth," Peter said grinning. He knew getting Remus on board would be the toughest part._ 'James and Sirius would follow if he decided to go'_, Peter thought.

That was the first in a series of mistakes that would lead to his undoing. It so happened that Remus went with him the first time and got caught up, but the other two Marauders didn't see the fascination with it. Eventually, however, he did manage to get all his friends into the YEP (Youth Empowerment Program) organization.

When James became involved with Lily Evans, she convinced him that Tom was no good, and that they had better leave the organization. Sirius followed them, and Peter was furious. How could they not understand the powerful message that Tom was spreading to them?

"Where did they go, Brother Peter?" Tom asked him.

"A cottage in Godric's Hollow, master," he said, bowing low. He wasn't sure what Tom would do with the information, but he wasn't one to question his leaders methods.

It was about two weeks later that the news broke of a rumored gas explosion in Godric's Hollow that killed the Potter family. Mysteriously their small son Harry had managed to survive the blast, and that was when Peter realised the kind of people he had been dealing with.

Peter was never a bad man, he just had a misguided sense of belonging. Again he felt like everything he did just ended up being a huge mistake. It was only a couple of days after the news that he packed his suitcase and ran away, making sure to change his name so he wouldn't be tracked down by other members of the YEP program.

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Present Day:

xxxxx

"Should have known they were corrupt," he muttered under his breath, picking up the shards of glass on the floor. He carefully swept the remaining pieces with a nearby broomstick and disappeared into the back of the coffee shop.

After cleaning up, he went back to the tables. It was a quiet lunchtime, and when he spotted a black haired boy with glasses and two other children about thirteen years old walking in, his heart lurched. That boy looked just like James Potter, his best friend. But it couldn't be, James was dead, as were all of his friends…

"Oh come on Harry," he heard a bushy haired girl saying as she pulled him into a booth by the window.

Peter gasped. This was the son of his best friend, the child who was an orphan because of _him_ and his misguided choices. He walked over, ignoring the urge to say that he knew Harry's father, and took the milkshake orders of the children. That day Peter got his reality check, one can run from one's past, but your lies always catch up to you in the end.

"Jeremy!" His boss yelled again, ripping him from his memories. _'At least he seems to have turned out okay_,' was the last thought he allowed himself before he pretended he didn't recognize the child. It wouldn't do to dig up the past, after all.


End file.
